Death penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Death penalty - Essay Example This essay will outline the debate on death penalty and provide an in-depth explanation of the proponents and opponents of the issue and their differing attitudes. The United States is one of the few nations of the world, which still employs death penalty as a form of punishment for some crimes. The penalty is considered as barbaric and contrary to the values of humanity, as well as American values of human treatment of individuals. However, there are some people who do not object to the death penalty and consider it as a crucial tool that can be employed in the fight against some that have a huge impact on the victim. There are some instances when an innocent person may be hanged to death yet they have not committed any crime. Such mistaking of criminals has led to numerous objections of the death penalty. Since the 1950s, most of the Americans have supported death penalty. There has been, however, tremendous changes in the attitudes towards death penalty since this time with few people supporting execution of murder criminals during the 1960s and 1970s. During the mid-1990s, the debate on death penalty took a new twist with a lot of emphasis been placed on the gender and racial aspects of death penalty. The support for death penalty was low among the blacks, women, as well as Hispanics while white males supported death penalty. Numerous polls conducted in the United States have sought to get know the attitudes of American public towards death penalty. From the studies conducted, it is clear that the attitudes of people towards death penalty are guided by their emotions (Lerne and Wilmoth 234). In the United States, criminal punishment has been riddled with controversy with some people opposing it on the grounds that what motivates law enforcers is revenge as opposed to ensuring that the victims get justice. In most instances, the United States law convicts criminals to death penalties in the case of murders. People who support this point of view hold